Although the Germans took advantage of the favorable terrain on the right bank of the Dnieper and put up stubborn resistance, the troops of the 65th Army successfully completed the task of forcing the Dnieper River, captured Loyev from the Germans, and continued to advance with great momentum.

Rokossovsky could not help but applaud when he learned that Batov's troops had successfully crossed the country and had established a landing ground in Loyev on the right bank of the Dnieper. He said to Malinin: "Comrade Chief of Staff, it seems that the feint launched by the troops of the right flank of our front has paid off, successfully attracting the enemy in the direction where they are and weakening the defense of Batov in the direction of their assault. ”

"Comrade commander," Terekin said as soon as Rokossovsky finished speaking, "should we immediately report this good news to the Supreme High Command?" I think Comrade Stalin must have been waiting for good news from us. ”

Terekin's suggestion was also considered by Rokossovsky, and he was anxious to report such good news to the High Command, but after thinking about it, he felt that it was better to hold off a little longer, and he had just reported to the High Command that the troops had established a landing field on the right bank of the Dnieper, and as soon as the phone was put down, the troops on the right bank were driven down the river by the Germans. Because of this, he cautiously said to Terekin: "Comrade Military Commissar, wait a minute, wait a little longer." After dark, we will summarize the situation of today's battle and report our results to the Supreme High Command and the General Staff. ”

"Comrade Commander is right," Malinin promptly expressed support for Rokossovsky's statement: "The Germans will definitely not allow our troops to gain a foothold on the right bank easily, and I estimate that they will soon launch a counter-assault in the Loyev direction." ”

But what happened next was not as Rokossovsky feared. Due to the active actions of the right flank troops, it was advantageous to pin down most of the enemy's forces, so that they could not mobilize forces in a short time to prevent the forward breakthrough of the Soviet troops in the Loyev area.

What was even more pleasing was that while the troops of Batov's 65th Army were advancing rapidly, the 61st Army, commanded by General Belov, which was on his left flank, also managed to break through the German defenses and advance into the enemy's depth.

"Comrade commander," Malinin said excitedly to Rokossovsky after reading all the battle reports: "You see, the current pace of advance of the 61st and 65th is very exciting. By tomorrow at the latest, we will be able to pose a threat to the rear of the entire German Gomel group, so that they will have to withdraw their forces deployed between the Sozh and Dnieper. ”

"It's entirely possible." Rokossovsky looked at the map and said: "As long as the enemy retreats the troops between the Sozh and Dnieper rivers, then the troops of the 48th Army, on the right flank of Batov, will be able to advance a constant distance." ”

"Comrade Commander," Malinin waited for Rokossovsky to finish speaking, and immediately asked him for instructions: "Do we summarize today's battle report and report it to the General Staff and the Supreme High Command?" ”

"Needless to say, Comrade Chief of Staff." Hearing what Malinin said, Rokossovsky immediately ordered without hesitation: "You immediately compile the battle report and report it to the General Staff." As for the Supreme Commander himself, I personally called him to report it. ”

Taking advantage of Malinin's telegram to the General Staff, Rokossovsky dialed Moscow. Hearing Boskorebeshev's voice, he immediately asked politely: "Comrade Boskorebeshev, I'm Rokossovsky, is Comrade Stalin still in the office?" I have good news to report to him! ”

"It's wonderful, Comrade Rokossovsky. The Supreme Commander himself has been waiting in his office for good news. Boskrebeshev said with some excitement: "I'll transfer your call in immediately." ”

When Stalin heard Rokossovsky's voice coming from the microphone, he couldn't help but smile and asked: "It turned out to be Konstantin Konstantinovich, I wonder if you called me at this time, do you have any good news to tell me?" ”

"Yes, Comrade Stalin." Rokossovsky said with a smile: "I have the honor to tell you that the troops of General Batov's 65th Army have successfully crossed the Dnieper and created a landing ground in the Loyev region; At the same time, General Belov's 61st Army also managed to break through the German lines and advance in depth. ”

"Belov," said Stalin, after repeating the name of the commander of the 61st Army, with a smile, "I can't imagine that our famous cavalry general is quite capable of commanding infantry." By the way, Comrade Rokossovsky, I almost forgot, you are also from cavalry. ”

"That's right, Comrade Stalin." Rokossovsky hurriedly replied: "Not only I am from cavalry, but even many high-ranking commanders, including Marshal Zhukov, are from cavalry. ”

"Yes, yes, you're right." Perhaps it was the success of the troops in forcing their way across the Dnieper that Stalin was in high spirits: "At present, many of the senior commanders on all fronts are cavalry commanders. Especially in the early days of the war, because our armored units suffered huge losses and could not appear on the battlefield in formation, it was our heroic cavalry who took on the main assault mission......"

When Rokossovsky listened to Stalin's account, he thought to himself: The reason why so many commanders from cavalry backgrounds held important positions on various fronts may have something to do with the fact that cavalry commanders were affected by the Great Purge.

Stalin and Rokossovsky chatted for a while, and then asked: "Comrade Rokossovsky, when will you take Gomel?" ”

"Comrade Stalin," Rokossovsky quickly replied when he heard Stalin's question, "because the three army groups on the right flank of our front have just been assigned to our command. They lacked men and ammunition, and it was very difficult to push forward until they were recharged. So I think that the operation to seize Gomel will take at least half a month to a month to complete. ”

After listening to Rokossovsky's answer, Stalin held the microphone and thought for a while, and then said to Rokossovsky: "I will give an order to the General Logistics Department to give them the shortest possible time to supply the three armies of your right flank. ”

After Rokossovsky put down the phone, he said to Malinin: "Comrade Stalin promised to supply the 50th, 3rd and 63rd armies with men and ammunition as soon as possible. ”

"It's great." Malinin, who had been having a headache with the supply of the right-wing troops for the past few days, suddenly felt much more relaxed when he heard Rokossovsky say this: "The troops of these three armies, as long as they are replenished with enough men and ammunition, they will become a nightmare for the Germans. ”

……

On the afternoon of the 16th, the Germans, who had suffered a heavy blow from the Soviets in the Loyev area, had to deploy their combat units between the Sozh and Dnieper rivers. And just as they began to retreat, Romanenko's 48th Army decisively launched an attack on the enemy, crushing the German covering forces in one fell swoop and advancing a full ten kilometers.

And the 19th Infantry Army, which Batov left between the two rivers, also under the command of the army commander Samarsky, successfully crossed the Dnieper and quickly advanced towards the Lechtsa area, moving closer to the main forces of the army group.

Although the situation on the battlefield is very good, Rokossovsky is still vigilant enough. He said to Malinin: "Comrade Chief of Staff, don't see that our army has been going very well in the past two days, but we should also be aware that the area is crisscrossed by rivers, the terrain conditions are very complicated, and there are strong fortified areas of the enemy, including the notorious eastern barriers, so that our army was able to seize a landing ground on the right bank of the Dnieper, which is 40 kilometers wide and 20 kilometers deep, is indeed a great achievement of the left flank troops." ”

"Our troops have already posed a threat to the German Gomel group." The experienced Malinin said to Rokossovsky: "According to my judgment, it is very likely that the enemy will draw forces from other areas and counterattack our troops. ”

Rokossovsky nodded after hearing this, "The current strength of our army is temporarily unable to break through the second line of defense of the German army, so the first task is to order the 65th and 61st armies to suspend the offensive and transfer their main forces to the first line in order to consolidate the existing positions." ”

"What, Comrade Commander, stop the offensive?" When Terekin heard Rokossovsky say this, he couldn't help but be taken aback: "At the moment our army is progressing well, is it appropriate to stop the offensive at such a time?" Won't it have a bad effect on the morale of the military? ”

"Comrade Military Commissar, I understand what you mean." Rokossovsky said helplessly: "Although the progress of our army seems to be going well, judging from the feedback from all sides, the enemy's defensive position is extremely strong, and we will not be able to successfully break through to him until we are resupplied and rested." ”

After Rokossovsky said this, seeing that Malinin was still standing in the same place, he urged him: "Chief of staff, what are you still doing in a daze, immediately call the two commanders Batov and Belov, tomorrow they will immediately stop the offensive and go on the defensive." Remember, be sure to have them deploy the main forces on the front line in order to consolidate the existing positions. ”

"Understood, Comrade Commander." Ma Linin nodded and said, "I'll call them." ”

Batov, who received Malinin's call, was stunned for a moment, and then asked rhetorically: "Comrade Chief of Staff, I heard you right, did you order my troops to stop the offensive and move to the defense on the spot?" ”

"Yes, General Batov." Ma Linin said in an affirmative tone: "This is the latest order issued by the commander of the front army. According to his judgment, the enemy will soon draw forces from other areas to counterattack your landing grounds, so you must put your main forces on the front line to consolidate the positions you have occupied. Do you understand? ”

After being silent for a long time, Batov replied somewhat reluctantly: "Understood, Comrade Chief of Staff. I then gave the troops an order to stop the offensive and let them go on the defensive. ”

And Belov, who also received the order to stop the offensive, behaved unusually crisply. As soon as he put down the microphone, he said to his chief of staff: "Comrade Chief of Staff, I have just received an order from my superiors to ask my group army to stop attacking and switch to defense on the spot. At the same time, we were warned that in order to prevent a counter-assault carried out by the Germans, it was necessary to deploy the main forces of the army group on the front line in order to consolidate the existing positions. ”

After hearing this, the chief of staff immediately nodded and said: "Understood, comrade commander, I will call the commanders of all divisions and order them to stop all offensive actions and switch to defense on the spot." ”

By evening, the troops of the entire Central Front had stopped attacking on all fronts and had moved on the defensive. When the Germans on the front saw that the Soviet troops had suddenly stopped their offensive and began to strengthen the fortifications in the occupied areas, they were deeply afraid that this was a conspiracy of the Soviet troops, so they could only stick to their positions and did not dare to attack at will.

When the situation on the front line was reported to the German commander through various means, he immediately realized that the Soviet troops were unable to break through their own defenses and had to temporarily switch to defense. He had the intention to immediately organize troops to carry out a counter-assault, but it was too late, so he had to give up this plan. However, he still gave an order to the troops below to wait for dawn tomorrow to immediately launch a counterattack on the positions of the Soviet troops.

It was precisely because of the hesitation of the German commander that the commanders and fighters of the Soviet army, who had just switched from offensive to defensive, bought precious time all night. By dawn the next day, the positions they had occupied had been effectively reinforced, and in the face of the German artillery bombardment, the commanders and fighters were able to calmly hide in relatively safe artillery holes.

After the German artillery bombardment ended, before the smoke on the position cleared, the German tanks guided the dense infantry and pounced on the Soviet defensive positions. They tried to recapture all the positions they had lost yesterday from the Soviets through a powerful counter-assault.

Seeing that the German attacking troops were within the range of artillery fire, as soon as Batov gave the order, the artillery units that had been on standby opened fire fiercely, intercepting the German tanks and infantry in the assault with dense artillery fire, inflicting huge casualties on them.

The Germans did not expect that the Soviet artillery fire, which had just been silent, would suddenly burst into force, and they were suddenly caught off guard. Tank after tank, blown to scrap metal in artillery fire; Groups of soldiers were blown to pieces in the artillery fire. Before the German attacking forces could approach the Soviet positions, they lost more than a quarter of their troops under heavy artillery fire. The German commander saw that the situation was not good, so he could only order the troops to withdraw first.